Snowy
by Zionagi
Summary: During a seemingly usual patrol for Shadows on Tatsumi Port Island, Labrys discovers an abandoned puppy by itself on the street. Knowing what it is like to be alone, she insists on taking the puppy along with her.


A note from Zionagi:

Hello everybody. I apologize for my lack of activity for the past few months. I had gotten a job over the summer and school started this month. Frankly, I have not found any time to write new stories or update any current ones. I deeply apologize for keeping you worried. I am not leaving this account inactive. I am going to make it my goal to keep updating as best as I can. Again, I am sorry if I worried anyone from my lack of activity.

For this story, the plot is inspired by a true story about a street cat who was called Ugly. I recommend reading the article before this story so you can get an idea of what is going on. Till then, peace out.

-Zionagi

Aigis scanned the alley for what seemed like the fourth time. Her crystal blue eyes lit up like LED lights, piercing through the darkness of the alley. Readying her weapons, concealed or non concealed, she took another look at the space. It was currently the Midnight Hour. That meant Shadows would be active and roaming around. After all, it was a part of her duty as a member of the Shadow Operatives to well, wipe out the Shadows.

"No signs of Shadows in this area. No targets found," Aigis said to herself quietly. Once again, she did another check in case a Shadow could be concealing it's presence. Not a single Shadow to be seen. Sighing in defeat, Aigis recalled her weapons back into her body. She pressed a finger against her right earplate against a few hidden buttons. **"There are no Shadows in my area. Have you made any contact?"**

She waited a moment, listening to the usual statics and buzzes of communicators. Soon enough, another voice blared through the receptor. **"Nah, I haven't seen a single one of those creepy things around here. I ain't pickin' up any movements of anything Shadow-related in the other alleys either. It's a bit too quiet for the Midnight Hour to not have them runnin' around." **

**"That may be so, Labrys. But we can't be positive there is not a single Shadow active. Check a couple more alleys and I'll do the same,"** replied Aigis.

Meanwhile, at Labrys' location, she sighed (Aigis heard a hint of annoyance in her voice) heavily. **"Alright, there's no guarantee I'll see one, but I'll look again. I'll call ya if something comes up." **

**"Understood." **

Click! Labrys' communicator turned off in response to only hearing static. She then ejected her axe off of the metal belt around her waist. The axe let out a slight hiss as it flew into the air like a rocket. Labrys' left arm caught the pole with ease before it could launch even higher. _Where would a Shadow be in a dark alley like this? It's the Dark Hour! Shouldn't there be at least a horde of them around?" _She thought.

Labrys turned around a corner of the back alleys only to venture down another one. The back alleys of Tatsumi Port Island were ideal locations for crimes and a Shadow attack to occur, so the android didn't hesitate to have her axe wielded on her hand. All around her were backs of abandoned buildings. Trash was scattered everywhere and rolled like tumbleweed in the desert. Cardboard boxes, tin cans, and oil barrels littered the ground. Even oil oozed out from the barrels, leaving various sizes puddles. Labrys was so focused on watching for Shadows as she walked down the trashy alley, she did not realize her feet pegs were slipping on the oil.

"What the- OW!" Labrys cried. Her feet skidded on the oil, causing her to slip and land straight on her back. She fell on the ground back first with a thud so loud, littered empty oil barrels shook from the impact. "Damn... That's gonna leave a dent," she groaned. Sure enough, when she sat up, her hands felt her head guard, there were a few small dents in her head guard. Oil was even splattered all over her Yasogami High uniform.

Suddenly, her communicator turned on. **"Sister, can you read me?! I heard a loud noise and-" **

The older Shadow Weapon sighed in annoyance. How could she forget her and Aigis' hearing was greater than ordinary humans? She did love her 'younger sister', yet Aigis could be a bit overprotective sometimes. **"It's nothin' serious Aigis! I just slipped on some oil drippin' from a barrel! Do ya ever think you worry to much about me? I can take care of myself!" **Labrys spoke as she slowly moved out of the oil puddle.

In Aigis' position, she was crouched around a corner of an alley out of sight not too far from where Labrys was. She spoke quietly into her communicator. **"That is not why I am reaching you! I have picked up a loud noise after I spoke to you earlier. This could be a Shadow that is nearby. **

**"I haven't heard a Shadow makin' any noise. You sure you ain't hearin' things?" **Labrys asked.

Aigis sighed on the other end.** "I am positive it sounds like a Shadow. I'll send you my coordinates to meet me at my location and I will show you where I heard the commotion." **

**"Fine. If this is a bust, you owe me oil." **

It didn't take longfor Labrys to show up at the coordinates Aigis provided. She showed up like she was ready to fight. Her axe was readied in both hands while a visor reminiscent of a medieval knight covered her eyes for protection while Aigis only had her guns hidden inside her body.

Aigis was the first to speak up. "This is where I heard the crashing sound." She pointed her finger towards the back of the alley. The way Labrys saw it was simply a brick wall, no way out. That meant a dead end. In front of the wall and to the sides of it were wooden boxes, more discarded oil barrels, trash cans, and a large dumpster. "Whoever made the noise had to have been near those objects," concluded Aigis, readying her weapons, even the guns hidden in her body popped out.

"So uh, you're sayin' ya think a Shadow could be hiding around the back? I hate to say it, but I dunno if-" Labrys was cut off by an abrupt crashing sound coming from the back alley.

Both androids stopped talking and turned their heads to see one of the trash cans and a box turned over. The top of the trash can spun like a coin until it slowly ceased to spin and fell onto the ground with a light thud. The sisters looked at each other, a look of alarm on their faces. No words were to be said. Aigis simply nodded her head in a 'yes' motion to signal Labrys to walk slowly. The two cautiously tiptoed to the trash cans with their weapons out and ready. While apprehending the area, the cluttering noises had ceased. Still, this could have been a Shadow for all they know. There was no sense in hesitating if this was a possible ambush.

The sisters agreed to split up (they'd stay near each other) in the alley to investigate the sites where Aigis claimed she heard the suspected Shadow. The blonde robot made a beeline for the trash cans and barrels while Labrys handled the boxes and the dumpster.

When Labrys approached the large trash disposal bin, she did not expect a wave of a smelly stench to greet her. She instinctively pinched her nose like a normal human would in reaction to the smell. _This reeks... _Still pinching her nose with one hand, her other one hesitantly tapped on the side of the dumpster.

Tap! Tap!

She braced herself for a Shadow to attack. Her axe was gripped tightly in both of her hands and optics emitted a ruby red color from behind her visor. To be honest, Labrys was a bit shaken at the thought of a Shadow hiding inside a dumpster. _Come on, what's wrong with me?! Me, scared of a little Shadow? It ain't like its my own Shadow... This is a regular Shadow we're talkin' here, but why can't I stop thinkin' about the other me? _she thought.

On Aigis' side, she was not having the best of luck. She had opened all of the discarded tin barrels and as soon as the top was loosened, instead of a Shadow, it was completely empty and filled with only the rust all around the surface. "No Shadow to be found in these barrels. Only place left it could be in are the trash cans," noted Aigis, who had finished inspecting the barrel. Her metal fingers grasped around the rusty texture of the container as she set it down on the ground. Since she was lifting the barrel, her guns had been temporarily placed back inside her body because she'd have some trouble over exceeding the weight limit her joints allowed her to carry.

Aigis wondered what was taking her sister so long to report to her. Rather than turn on her communicator, she walked over to the dumpster near her.

**"Oh, Labrys, have you found any Shadows? I did not find a single one hiding in the barrels. Any luck with the dumpster?" **she yelled, cupping her hands so Labrys could hear her. She was not tall enough to quite reach the top of the opening of the dumpster, but a rustle could be heard from the trash. Before Aigis had the chance to whip out her Gatling cannon, Labrys shot her head and upper body through the pile, breathing heavily for air.

"God dammit, this is not how I wanted to look for a Shadow..." Labrys angrily muttered.

"Oh, sister, it's only you. Did you find a Shadow inside the dumpster?" Aigis asked innocently.

A growl of annoyance greeted her. "No. I had to dive into the dumpster and guess what? There was NOTHIN'! Do I look like I found a Shadow? HELL NO! I smell like a chump!" Labrys took a whiff of her school uniform only for her to plug her nose. "Great... Just great. This is gonna take weeks for this stuff to wash out!"

Normally Aigis would say something to cheer up her sister, but now wasn't a good time. She ignored Labrys' rant and waited until she could explain to her about her own finding. When she finished her story, Labrys had finally stopped fuming from smelling like garbage.

"And that's what happened while I searched the barrels," concluded Aigis.

Labrys, who was now out of the dumpster and sitting on a wooden crate holder next to her sister, shook her head in disapproval. "This is gettin' us nowhere. We've searched every freakin' corner of the alley, nook and cranny, even the stupid garbage!"

"Labrys, we can't simply abandon the mission. We could be risking people's lives on the island. Would you want innocent people to be harmed by Shadows if we, the Shadow Operatives, sat around and did not fight back?"

"Shut up, Aigis."

"No, I will not-

"No, seriously, shut it! I hear somethin'!"

"Hear what?"

Labrys made a shushing motion with her hands. She crouched down onto the ground on her metal pegs acting as feet facing the pile of boxes and tin barrels Aigis had once inspected. The blonde was about to object claiming she found nothing, but she stopped. It was time Aigis trusted her sister's instincts. Labrys carefully tiptoed to the trash pile quietly and diligently. The closer she got, the louder the noise she had picked up increased.

She then finally made it to the trash. Kneeling on her knees, she hastily pushed aside tin cans, newspapers, and cardboard boxes scattered all over the ground. "Come on, I know I heard somethin' around this trash heap... Whatever made that sound has gotta be here..."

"Sister, if I may ask, what sound did you hear?" Aigis whispered, who had apparently followed her and was now helping move aside the trash.

"I dunno how to explain it, but it sounded like a cry of some sort. I never heard of a Shadow cryin' before."

"Huh..."

CRASH!

Aigis and Labrys' sensors (which acted as ears) caused them to perk up in response to the loud noise. The first thing they saw was a trash can that fell over flat on its side, rolling in an awkward circular motion.

Labrys stood up on her feet, not caring if she would be at a disadvantage by staying hidden in the case of a Shadow hiding.

"Sister, wait! Don't go, it's-"

The older maiden ignored Aigis and strided over to the trash can. Once she came to the crash site, she moved aside a barrel blocking her view of the trash, only for her to gasp.

"I don't believe it. This was makin' all the ruckus..."

Aigis was confused by what Labrys was talking about. She hesitantly moved from her hiding spot by the dumpster all the way to the trash can. She peered over Labrys' shoulder only for her eyes too to widen at what she was seeing. "This is quite a shock. This little one is responsible for the mishap?"

What Labrys and Aigis happened to find in the trash can was not a Shadow nor a raccoon, but a frail, little puppy with snow white fur picking through the trash and barely moving. It's appear have gave off a vibe that would make people think it was an ugly animal. The puppy was missing an eye and a leg. Part of its left ear is gone, a skinny, bony body proved it was underweight,cfleas could be seen jumping in the fur, and pink skin was exposed due to fur loss.

The poor puppy struggled to move through the trash to find something to eat, but it's lack of strength in its legs gave in and made it fall. Labrys instinctively caught the puppy in her hands before it touched the surface of the trash can. She raised her hands up to her and Aigis' eye level. The sisters were at a loss of words. Out here was a puppy left to fend for itself and clearly, it was not surviving well on its own. Since they were robots, they did not have the need for food or water, only oil, yet no one could imagine what it would be like to be with no place to call home or any place to find food except in the trash.

Aigis' optics took a quick scan of the puppy. She could instantly figure out its weight, body temperature, and many other details. "Based on the results and its bony appearance... This dog is severely underweight, dehydrated, and infected with fleas."

"I can't just leave this dog here!" Labrys cried, carefully touching the puppy. "There has to be somethin' we can do! Misturu-san might know what to do to help it!" She looked around in the trash and found an empty box small enough for the puppy and an old blanket. The dog was placed inside the box after laying the blanket in first.

"Come on, Aigis! We gotta save him!"


End file.
